South African airline allows dogs on flights: That’s ‘paw-some’ news!

South African budget carrier, Lift Airlines, recently announced a new offering for passengers with four-legged friends. Here are all the details…

Lift Airlines will now allow dog owners to bring their furry friends on board flights with them.

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According to the airline’s website, dogs will now be able to travel in a pet-friendly carry bag with their owners, in a special blocked window seat allocated for them.

Only a limited number of pets are allowed to travel on selected flights‚ and a rigorous cleaning schedule is conducted in between flights to ensure that safety and hygiene standards are maintained.

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“Many ‘paw-rents’ can’t always make use of kennels, family or friends to look after their pets,” said Lift Airlines co-founder Jonathan Ayache.

“And they want their four-legged family members to be included when they travel. Until now, this hasn’t been possible when travelling by plane.” Ayache added.

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WHAT ARE THE TRAVEL REQUIREMENTS?

Lift Airlines revealed that there are certain travel requirements for this new service. These include only allowing small dogs no bigger than 28 cm x 20 cm x 45 cm for now.

Others include:

• Only having one dog allowed per adult passenger
• Dogs must be at least 10 weeks old.
• A dog travelling in the cabin must be carried in an approved purpose-built soft-case dog carrier bag‚ that is well ventilated‚ at all times.
• A dog will not be permitted to occupy a seat‚ and the dog carrier bag must fit completely under the seat in front of the window seat reserved and remain there at all times.
• Puppy training pads/absorbent sheets must be placed in the dog carrier bag.
• See the website for all requirements and details.